By Laurie Morrissey

In eighth grade, Amy Cannon wanted to save the world. She did her Earth Day science presentation on ozone depletion, and spent hours outdoors with her brother, observing “turtles, salamanders—you name it.”

Thirteen years later, she is still studying ways to solve environmental problems. She was the first candidate in the country’s only doctoral program in green chemistry, and now works in the computer industry trying to find alternatives to toxic materials in printed circuit boards.

Green chemistry is a Ph.D. track offered by the University of Massachusetts Department of Environmental Sciences and administered by the chemistry department. In addition to the typical chemistry studies, the program develops skills in designing materials and processes that have minimal impact on human health and the environment. Amy’s work in green chemistry involved developing alternative energy systems that are sustainable—meaning they are not manufactured using lots of toxic materials that go back into the environment.

“Alternative energy started off on the wrong foot,” she explains. “The first silicon-based solar cells were developed in the 1950s for the space program. But scientists weren’t looking at issues of environmental and toxicological impact, just at efficiency. We’re finally getting money into the hands of the researchers to come up with alternative energy devices that use safe materials.” Safe materials are also cost-effective materials:

“If a company uses hazardous materials they have to pay to prove they’re in compliance or pay for cleanup.”

The goal of Amy’s research was to make solar cells that can compete with the silicon technology still in use. The goal is to develop a solar energy collecting material that can be painted onto roads and buildings.

While working on her undergraduate degree in chemistry, Amy worked on the Piscataquog River Watershed research directed by Professor Barry Wicklow. “His course, ‘Biosphere at Risk,’ got me really excited about environmental issues,” she says. After graduating, she worked for the Gillette Company for two years before applying to graduate school.

As a break from the lab, Amy enjoys visiting local schools to offer a hands-on lesson in which students make a solar energy device the size of a credit card, using blackberries and titanium dioxide. She also likes playing basketball—an interest shared by her dad, Saint Anselm College’s director of athletics, Ed Cannon.